SETI.Germany's 15th Annual Pentathlon (2024)

Gilthanis

Gilthanis

[H]ard|DCer of the Year - 2014
Joined
Jan 29, 2006
Messages
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This post gets updated throughout the event. Always check back for updates!
https://www.seti-germany.de/boinc_pentathlon/
The BOINC Pentathlon starts on 05 May 2024, 00:00 UTC, and ends on 19 May 2024, 00:00 UTC. So, it will run for exactly 14 days. We finished in 5th place last year.

The BOINC Pentathlon consists of 5 disciplines:

  1. Marathon (14 days) - PrimeGrid (Cullen Prime Search LLR sub project ONLY!)
    After making your account, make sure to join our team at this link - https://www.primegrid.com/team_display.php?teamid=1710
    For those wanting a sit and forget contribution, this is the one to set up.
    These work units are quorum of 1. So, no need for a wingman to confirm it. Just get them returned within the deadline.
  2. Sprint (3 days) - Numberfields (CPU and GPU capable)
    5/5 - 5/8, After joining the project make sure you join the team at this link - https://numberfields.asu.edu/NumberFields/team_display.php?teamid=19
    These work units are quorum of 1. So, no need for wingmen. Just get them returned within the deadline and hopefully the validator doesn't take a dump before time is up.
  3. City Run (5 days) - The Ramanujan Machine (CPU only)
    5/7 - 5/12 - After making your account, make sure to join our team at this link - https://rnma.xyz/boinc/team_display.php?teamid=2
    These work units are quorum of 2. Therefore you need a wingman to verify your work before getting credit. It is smartest to grab all you can complete all at the beginning in a large cache so that it increases the odds of getting validated before the end date.
    Be careful pausing/suspending work. They will reset to the beginning and start over.
  4. Steeplechase (7 days, with bonus credits on 2 one-day obstacles)
  5. Javelin Throw (5 x 1 day, only each team's third best daily score counts)
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Previous year's threads
2023 - https://hardforum.com/threads/seti-germanys-14th-annual-pentathlon-2023.2026968/
2022 - https://hardforum.com/threads/seti-germanys-13th-annual-pentathlon-2022.2018539/
2021 - https://hardforum.com/threads/seti-germanys-12th-annual-boinc-pentathlon-2021.2009895/
2020 - https://hardforum.com/threads/seti-germanys-11-annual-boinc-pentathlon-2020.1995136/
2019 - https://hardforum.com/threads/2019-boinc-pentathlon.1980089/#post-1044154864
2018 - https://hardforum.com/threads/9th-annual-boinc-pentathlon-hosted-by-seti-germany.1957969/
2017 - https://hardforum.com/threads/10th-...sted-by-seti-germany.1980020/#post-1044152665
2016 - https://hardforum.com/threads/7th-annual-boinc-pentathlon-2016.1896285/
2015 - https://hardforum.com/threads/boinc-pentathlon-2015.1858766/
 

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Here is a list of some videos for assisting newer users to get started and tweak things.

How to install BOINC
Windows -
Ubuntu 19.10 -
Mint 19.2 -

Bunkering tactics
Most basic bunkering -
Modifying Windows host file -
Windows Defender Firewall -
Router Firewall -
Suspending work units -
 
Tips
1. If you want a set and forget contribution, we recommend you attach your CPU's to whatever project is announced for the Marathon. This means it should contribute the entire event and won't necessarily require you to do anything but attach and let it run. The more active members will change their pace as needed and add where we need them most. Consider yourself the anchor to hold our position.
2. If you are confused or feel in over your head, please ask for guidance. We have some guys that have a lot of experience that can walk you step by step if needed.
3. Not all projects support GPU's. If you want to support with a GPU, ask us for assistance and we will try and guide you.
4. Don't think that a little contribution doesn't help. Three years ago, we barely got beat for 5th place and just a little more could have gone a long way. If you have ANY hardware that you can fire up for the event, please do so. Depending on the project, old gear might run just as quick as new gear. We will see.
5. Linux almost always performs better than Windows but Windows is MUCH easier to get things happy.
6. You may hear us throw out a term called "bunkering". You don't need to do this if you don't want to be hands on tweaking often and monitoring things. However, if you are willing to get your feet wet and dig in, you can certainly help make gains a lot better for the team during the event. Again, only if you are comfortable and are willing to monitor things throughout each day.
7. You may hear us discuss multiple clients. This is a whole lot of learning. I don't recommend you doing this until you have a pretty good grasp of the BOINC client first.
8. If you want to use your GPU(s), feel free to pick one of the events we list for GPU's (as they are announced) or ask us where they would be best served. We may ask you to switch as strategies shift. We won't be offended if you decide to just leave them on one of your choice.
9. It would be advisable to load up BOINC and test your rigs in advance to the event if possible. This gives you time to make sure that it is stable and can handle 24/7 processing.
10. It is advisable to attach to a project as soon as it is announced in order to get all the necessary files downloaded as soon as possible. You can even speculate on what projects in advance to be ready. You may find the project struggling when first announced as many users will be doing the same and pulling files down can clog the pipeline. It may go on for a while since this is also typically when many people start building their bunkers as well.

Strategies
1. Bunkering is critical for this event. If you are comfortable with the BOINC client, consider delving into some of the intricate ways of strategy. https://hardforum.com/threads/bunkering-why-you-should-or-should-not-do-it.1829159/
2. Multiple clients will most likely become more and more critical with every event. They too are a bit more complex and may need some guidance. If you are willing to delve into such things, reach out to one of us and we will try and walk your through it.
3. Ask everyone you know if they are willing to help out for a few weeks. Even small contributions really help out. Some teams are comprised of mostly small contributing users but are power houses in these events. We can do the same.
4. Mining rigs can certainly help but not all of them are built for DC projects very well. Don't feel bad if you don't get the results you expected. Some GPU work needs a full CPU thread. Small CPU's may not be able to fully utilize all cards. If you bring such setups, feel free to ask for best utilization advice.
5. There are GPU capable projects that older GPU's (typically AMD) work better than some newer projects because of double precision capabilities. There are only a few out there but it does happen. Don't get discouraged if your newer cards aren't performing as well compared to others. Not all hardware is created equal but your contributions still help.
6. Since the Obstacle Course consists of 3 days where there is bonus points, it is most efficient to bunker your work units and only release them on those days or after. That is of course if your bunkers haven't reached their deadlines already.

Suggested tactics for the new users -
This section will be updated as more information is provided for the event.
For those wanting set and forget -
Just attach to the Marathon project. You can put all of your CPU's on this project for the entire 14 days.
If you want your GPU to help, you can just pick the project for the javelin throws and let that project run.

For those wanting to contribute a little more.
If you don't want to go too crazy, you could focus the CPU's on the Marathon, but there will certainly be times when we could use them elsewhere. Keep an eye on the announcements and discussion and feel free to toss them wherever we may need some help.
GPU's on the other hand will probably take a lot more planning and strategy. There may be multiple projects overlapping requiring us to choose where to allocate things. Feel free to just pick one in those cases or ask where it will be best served. Sometimes we can direct you to simply "hold the line" while others move their gear around to make things simpler.

Deadlines for Projects:
These will be added as projects are announced
 
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I've come out of hibernation and now have all my old Threadrippers fired up and ready to crunch, along with a couple of Intel rigs, and my new DD 7950X rig I built in Dec. I will have 11 computers in total, with 364 threads worth of compute power. No GPU's, though, beyond a single 2080 Super in one of the Intel rigs and the 7900 XTX in my daily.
 
RFGuy_KCCO said:
I've come out of hibernation and now have all my old Threadrippers fired up and ready to crunch, along with a couple of Intel rigs, and my new DD 7950X rig I built in Dec. I will have 11 computers in total, with 364 threads worth of compute power. No GPU's, though, beyond a single 2080 Super in one of the Intel rigs and the 7900 XTX in my daily.
Click to expand...
Glad to see you back!
 
Note: the marathon project which will be announced on May 2nd (Thu) May 1st (Wed) at 5pm/8pm PT/ET. As stated above the marathon should be the easiest to run (set and forget).

We have a dedicated slack channel for those who want to actively discuss strategies, resource allocation, etc during the pentathlon. Just PM any of the DC active members for invite together with your email. If you already in our slack, just let us know there.
 
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pututu said:
Note: the marathon project which will be announced on May 2nd (Thu). As stated above the marathon should be the easiest to run (set and forget).

We have a dedicated slack channel for those who want to actively discuss strategies, resource allocation, etc during the pentathlon. Just PM any of the DC active members for invite together with your email. If you already in our slack, just let us know there.
Click to expand...
The slack info is also in the pinned thread https://hardforum.com/threads/h-orde-central-6-0-everything-dc-faqs-guides-tips-and-tricks.1829300/
 
Bump. With about 2 days left, the marathon cpu project will be announced on May 1st (Wed) at 5pm/8pm PT/ET

Get ready [H]ordes!.

So far 24 teams have signed up. Team TAAT came first in 2022 and 2023 led by our ex-Horde.
 
I'm not going nuts like last year. But, I did get a cheap 4060 I'll add to the gpu stuff.
 
wareyore said:
I'm not going nuts like last year. But, I did get a cheap 4060 I'll add to the gpu stuff.
Click to expand...
Scaled down my gpu inventory when compare to last year. I'm trying to see if the aging gpu can still contribute reasonably well. I still have one Radeon VII that I decided to set it up for einstein if it got chosen. PPD is not bad. See my today's post here: https://einsteinathome.org/content/testing-radeon-vii-all-sky-gravitational-wave-o3-o3as. Linux is much faster than Windows.
 
I don't have a Radeon VII but I've been using CoreCTRL for a few years now with RX570s and a 6750xt and never once have I had a problem with it. For reference I'm running Manjaro on both my systems.
 
Jeeper's pre-race commentary yesterday. With about 2 hours to go for the first project announcement, get ready [H]ordes. Let the fun (ahem suffering/distress/anxiety/frustration.) begins ;) .

30 April 2024 – It's starting again​


A year ago I asked ChatGPT if it knew about the BOINC Pentathlon. Back then, the system crashed because of this difficult question. But this year, it has been proven that artificial pattern recognition captures what is ahead of us again. MS Copilot won against Gemini with the following lines:


Yes, I know the BOINC Pentathlon. This competition is inspired by the ancient Olympic Games and takes place in the BOINC universe. Here are the key facts:

Date: From 5 May 2024, 0.00 UTC, to 19 May 2024, 0.00 UTC.
Disciplines: Teams compete in five different BOINC projects to earn points and win medals.
Challenge: The BOINC Pentathlon is an innovative competition that puts the teams' skills to test.
If you are looking for more information, please visit the official BOINC Pentathlon website
Good luck to the participating teams! 🏆🌟
Well, I cannot put it much better than that. AI is a great artisan, but will never be an artist. And above all, it will always lack one thing: fun; as it will inevitably be for the more than two dozen teams this year. And in the end, this is what it is all about! What a poor soul an AI is for having to work hard all the time, constantly being fed stupid questions, having to do the work for others, and then they even have all the fun…

The 15th edition is upon us this year. Pentathlons full of excitement, fun, and sleepless nights are behind us. Some of the crunchers taking part today were still filling diapers back then, and thus delivered completely different kinds of work units (for the parents). Kids, how time flies.

The top 12 from last year have already signed up and there is still a couple of days left to further fill the field. Everyone can take part here and fight for positions, even if it is just for the last place.

This year sees the return of the Marathon. It is perfect for those who still want a touch of calm despite all the brisk exercise. City Run, Sprint, and Javelin Throw are on the schedule as well. The Steeplechase is a new variant of the Obstacle Run this year, only shorter and more intense. The venues are still a secret.

I will accompany you again this year. Since 2010, quite a few words have accumulated. If you want to recap them, you can do so in the SG-Wiki (2010–2015) and on the Pentathlon website (since 2016). As last year, I will comment on no more than two rankings per day, so that the texts do not get tooo looooooooooooooong.

TeAm AnandTech (TAAT) won last year and could score a hat trick this year. Only Planet 3DNow! (P3D) has managed to do so before and they will certainly try everything to prevent this. SETI.Germany (S⁠G) also wants to be on the big podium again this year and will face tough competition. How strong will LinusTechTips_Team (LTT) perform? Or [H]ard|OCP ([H])? Can Rechenkraft.net (RKN) surprise us again and what about L'Alliance Francophone (AF) and Czech National Team (CNT)? And maybe SETI.USA (SUSA) will be in the mix again?

You see it will be exciting again at the BOINC Pentathlon; it's starting again on 05 May 2024 - the daily bulletin, too.
 
1714612479053.png

The first project announced is PrimeGrid. Make sure to log into your PG account and change your preferences https://www.primegrid.com/prefs.php?subset=project
You only want to select the Cullen Prime Search work units.
1714612648662.png


Make sure you uncheck all other work units types including those for your GPU's. Cullen only has CPU work but you don't want to pull any GPU work for any of the other sub projects.
1714612716821.png


Also, don't forget to press the update button.
 
Note that this CUL (Cullen Prime Search) task can take on average 107 hours to complete based on recent data. That's assuming you are running one thread per task.
Recommendation: Turn HT off or run 50% of the total cores. I would recommend running at least 4 to 8 threads per task (see blue box by entering "8") when you are editing the "PrimeGrid preferences" page up to total available physical cpu cores.

For advanced user:
In addition, each task can take up to 21.5MB of L3 cache. For example, ryzen cpu 3950x has 64MB L3 cache/16 physical cores with two CCDs. For optimum performance, best to run 2 tasks with each task using 8 threads to fit within the cpu L3 cache (21.5MB x 2 = 43MB) as data communication between CCDs add some latency. Basically running one task on each CCD. Intel consumer cpu is based on monolithic design, so there is no latency issue.

1714612821272.png
 
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It also indicates it will use around 20 MB of cache so it's probably good to keep that in mind.

I haven't swapped over my Ryzen 2600x yet but I'm not sure if I'm going to since it only has 16 MB of cache.
 
SmokeRngs said:
It also indicates it will use around 20 MB of cache so it's probably good to keep that in mind.

I haven't swapped over my Ryzen 2600x yet but I'm not sure if I'm going to since it only has 16 MB of cache.
Click to expand...
It will still run but from my recollection it will run slower (sub-optimally) than a similar chip with similar core count and clock speed but with at least 22MB of cache.

Anyway, usually there will be another project to be announced tomorrow or the day after. They usually announced two projects before the race starts, so maybe just keep enough work until the next announcement.
 
Neat. Glad to see a PG project, although Cullen would perhaps not be my top choice. Ah well. At least most of my Xeon E5 systems will be able to run two tasks/CPU without too much trouble. I'll get most of my systems switched over to this in a few hours.

pututu What's your experience running this w. the multiple CCXs/CCD on the AMD CPUs? F.ex, here's the cache topology of one of my EPYC chips:

Invalid MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 keyMachine (252GB total)
Package L#0
NUMANode L#0 (P#0 126GB)
L3 L#0 (16MB)
L2 L#0 (512KB) + L1d L#0 (32KB) + L1i L#0 (32KB) + Core L#0 + PU L#0 (P#0)
L2 L#1 (512KB) + L1d L#1 (32KB) + L1i L#1 (32KB) + Core L#1 + PU L#1 (P#1)
L2 L#2 (512KB) + L1d L#2 (32KB) + L1i L#2 (32KB) + Core L#2 + PU L#2 (P#2)
L2 L#3 (512KB) + L1d L#3 (32KB) + L1i L#3 (32KB) + Core L#3 + PU L#3 (P#3)
L3 L#1 (16MB)
L2 L#4 (512KB) + L1d L#4 (32KB) + L1i L#4 (32KB) + Core L#4 + PU L#4 (P#4)
L2 L#5 (512KB) + L1d L#5 (32KB) + L1i L#5 (32KB) + Core L#5 + PU L#5 (P#5)
L2 L#6 (512KB) + L1d L#6 (32KB) + L1i L#6 (32KB) + Core L#6 + PU L#6 (P#6)
L2 L#7 (512KB) + L1d L#7 (32KB) + L1i L#7 (32KB) + Core L#7 + PU L#7 (P#7)
L3 L#2 (16MB)
L2 L#8 (512KB) + L1d L#8 (32KB) + L1i L#8 (32KB) + Core L#8 + PU L#8 (P#8)
L2 L#9 (512KB) + L1d L#9 (32KB) + L1i L#9 (32KB) + Core L#9 + PU L#9 (P#9)
L2 L#10 (512KB) + L1d L#10 (32KB) + L1i L#10 (32KB) + Core L#10 + PU L#10 (P#10)
L2 L#11 (512KB) + L1d L#11 (32KB) + L1i L#11 (32KB) + Core L#11 + PU L#11 (P#11)
L3 L#3 (16MB)
L2 L#12 (512KB) + L1d L#12 (32KB) + L1i L#12 (32KB) + Core L#12 + PU L#12 (P#12)
L2 L#13 (512KB) + L1d L#13 (32KB) + L1i L#13 (32KB) + Core L#13 + PU L#13 (P#13)
L2 L#14 (512KB) + L1d L#14 (32KB) + L1i L#14 (32KB) + Core L#14 + PU L#14 (P#14)
L2 L#15 (512KB) + L1d L#15 (32KB) + L1i L#15 (32KB) + Core L#15 + PU L#15 (P#15)
L3 L#4 (16MB)
L2 L#16 (512KB) + L1d L#16 (32KB) + L1i L#16 (32KB) + Core L#16 + PU L#16 (P#16)
L2 L#17 (512KB) + L1d L#17 (32KB) + L1i L#17 (32KB) + Core L#17 + PU L#17 (P#17)
L2 L#18 (512KB) + L1d L#18 (32KB) + L1i L#18 (32KB) + Core L#18 + PU L#18 (P#18)
L2 L#19 (512KB) + L1d L#19 (32KB) + L1i L#19 (32KB) + Core L#19 + PU L#19 (P#19)
L3 L#5 (16MB)
L2 L#20 (512KB) + L1d L#20 (32KB) + L1i L#20 (32KB) + Core L#20 + PU L#20 (P#20)
L2 L#21 (512KB) + L1d L#21 (32KB) + L1i L#21 (32KB) + Core L#21 + PU L#21 (P#21)
L2 L#22 (512KB) + L1d L#22 (32KB) + L1i L#22 (32KB) + Core L#22 + PU L#22 (P#22)
L2 L#23 (512KB) + L1d L#23 (32KB) + L1i L#23 (32KB) + Core L#23 + PU L#23 (P#23)
L3 L#6 (16MB)
L2 L#24 (512KB) + L1d L#24 (32KB) + L1i L#24 (32KB) + Core L#24 + PU L#24 (P#24)
L2 L#25 (512KB) + L1d L#25 (32KB) + L1i L#25 (32KB) + Core L#25 + PU L#25 (P#25)
L2 L#26 (512KB) + L1d L#26 (32KB) + L1i L#26 (32KB) + Core L#26 + PU L#26 (P#26)
L2 L#27 (512KB) + L1d L#27 (32KB) + L1i L#27 (32KB) + Core L#27 + PU L#27 (P#27)
L3 L#7 (16MB)
L2 L#28 (512KB) + L1d L#28 (32KB) + L1i L#28 (32KB) + Core L#28 + PU L#28 (P#28)
L2 L#29 (512KB) + L1d L#29 (32KB) + L1i L#29 (32KB) + Core L#29 + PU L#29 (P#29)
L2 L#30 (512KB) + L1d L#30 (32KB) + L1i L#30 (32KB) + Core L#30 + PU L#30 (P#30)
L2 L#31 (512KB) + L1d L#31 (32KB) + L1i L#31 (32KB) + Core L#31 + PU L#31 (P#31)
L3 L#8 (16MB)
L2 L#32 (512KB) + L1d L#32 (32KB) + L1i L#32 (32KB) + Core L#32 + PU L#32 (P#32)
L2 L#33 (512KB) + L1d L#33 (32KB) + L1i L#33 (32KB) + Core L#33 + PU L#33 (P#33)
L2 L#34 (512KB) + L1d L#34 (32KB) + L1i L#34 (32KB) + Core L#34 + PU L#34 (P#34)
L2 L#35 (512KB) + L1d L#35 (32KB) + L1i L#35 (32KB) + Core L#35 + PU L#35 (P#35)
L3 L#9 (16MB)
L2 L#36 (512KB) + L1d L#36 (32KB) + L1i L#36 (32KB) + Core L#36 + PU L#36 (P#36)
L2 L#37 (512KB) + L1d L#37 (32KB) + L1i L#37 (32KB) + Core L#37 + PU L#37 (P#37)
L2 L#38 (512KB) + L1d L#38 (32KB) + L1i L#38 (32KB) + Core L#38 + PU L#38 (P#38)
L2 L#39 (512KB) + L1d L#39 (32KB) + L1i L#39 (32KB) + Core L#39 + PU L#39 (P#39)
L3 L#10 (16MB)
L2 L#40 (512KB) + L1d L#40 (32KB) + L1i L#40 (32KB) + Core L#40 + PU L#40 (P#40)
L2 L#41 (512KB) + L1d L#41 (32KB) + L1i L#41 (32KB) + Core L#41 + PU L#41 (P#41)
L2 L#42 (512KB) + L1d L#42 (32KB) + L1i L#42 (32KB) + Core L#42 + PU L#42 (P#42)
L2 L#43 (512KB) + L1d L#43 (32KB) + L1i L#43 (32KB) + Core L#43 + PU L#43 (P#43)
L3 L#11 (16MB)
L2 L#44 (512KB) + L1d L#44 (32KB) + L1i L#44 (32KB) + Core L#44 + PU L#44 (P#44)
L2 L#45 (512KB) + L1d L#45 (32KB) + L1i L#45 (32KB) + Core L#45 + PU L#45 (P#45)
L2 L#46 (512KB) + L1d L#46 (32KB) + L1i L#46 (32KB) + Core L#46 + PU L#46 (P#46)
L2 L#47 (512KB) + L1d L#47 (32KB) + L1i L#47 (32KB) + Core L#47 + PU L#47 (P#47)
L3 L#12 (16MB)
L2 L#48 (512KB) + L1d L#48 (32KB) + L1i L#48 (32KB) + Core L#48 + PU L#48 (P#48)
L2 L#49 (512KB) + L1d L#49 (32KB) + L1i L#49 (32KB) + Core L#49 + PU L#49 (P#49)
L2 L#50 (512KB) + L1d L#50 (32KB) + L1i L#50 (32KB) + Core L#50 + PU L#50 (P#50)
L2 L#51 (512KB) + L1d L#51 (32KB) + L1i L#51 (32KB) + Core L#51 + PU L#51 (P#51)
L3 L#13 (16MB)
L2 L#52 (512KB) + L1d L#52 (32KB) + L1i L#52 (32KB) + Core L#52 + PU L#52 (P#52)
L2 L#53 (512KB) + L1d L#53 (32KB) + L1i L#53 (32KB) + Core L#53 + PU L#53 (P#53)
L2 L#54 (512KB) + L1d L#54 (32KB) + L1i L#54 (32KB) + Core L#54 + PU L#54 (P#54)
L2 L#55 (512KB) + L1d L#55 (32KB) + L1i L#55 (32KB) + Core L#55 + PU L#55 (P#55)
L3 L#14 (16MB)
L2 L#56 (512KB) + L1d L#56 (32KB) + L1i L#56 (32KB) + Core L#56 + PU L#56 (P#56)
L2 L#57 (512KB) + L1d L#57 (32KB) + L1i L#57 (32KB) + Core L#57 + PU L#57 (P#57)
L2 L#58 (512KB) + L1d L#58 (32KB) + L1i L#58 (32KB) + Core L#58 + PU L#58 (P#58)
L2 L#59 (512KB) + L1d L#59 (32KB) + L1i L#59 (32KB) + Core L#59 + PU L#59 (P#59)
L3 L#15 (16MB)
L2 L#60 (512KB) + L1d L#60 (32KB) + L1i L#60 (32KB) + Core L#60 + PU L#60 (P#60)
L2 L#61 (512KB) + L1d L#61 (32KB) + L1i L#61 (32KB) + Core L#61 + PU L#61 (P#61)
L2 L#62 (512KB) + L1d L#62 (32KB) + L1i L#62 (32KB) + Core L#62 + PU L#62 (P#62)
L2 L#63 (512KB) + L1d L#63 (32KB) + L1i L#63 (32KB) + Core L#63 + PU L#63 (P#63)


The part I'm worried about is that rather than being 8x32MB caches (a monolithic 32MB per 8-core CCD), it's further subdivided into two 16MB caches per CCD. Have you had any success running a task across both CCXs in a CCD, or does that still brutalise the performance?
 
[Ion] said:
Neat. Glad to see a PG project, although Cullen would perhaps not be my top choice. Ah well. At least most of my Xeon E5 systems will be able to run two tasks/CPU without too much trouble. I'll get most of my systems switched over to this in a few hours.

pututu What's your experience running this w. the multiple CCXs/CCD on the AMD CPUs? F.ex, here's the cache topology of one of my EPYC chips:

Invalid MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 keyMachine (252GB total)
Package L#0
NUMANode L#0 (P#0 126GB)
L3 L#0 (16MB)
L2 L#0 (512KB) + L1d L#0 (32KB) + L1i L#0 (32KB) + Core L#0 + PU L#0 (P#0)
L2 L#1 (512KB) + L1d L#1 (32KB) + L1i L#1 (32KB) + Core L#1 + PU L#1 (P#1)
L2 L#2 (512KB) + L1d L#2 (32KB) + L1i L#2 (32KB) + Core L#2 + PU L#2 (P#2)
L2 L#3 (512KB) + L1d L#3 (32KB) + L1i L#3 (32KB) + Core L#3 + PU L#3 (P#3)
L3 L#1 (16MB)
L2 L#4 (512KB) + L1d L#4 (32KB) + L1i L#4 (32KB) + Core L#4 + PU L#4 (P#4)
L2 L#5 (512KB) + L1d L#5 (32KB) + L1i L#5 (32KB) + Core L#5 + PU L#5 (P#5)
L2 L#6 (512KB) + L1d L#6 (32KB) + L1i L#6 (32KB) + Core L#6 + PU L#6 (P#6)
L2 L#7 (512KB) + L1d L#7 (32KB) + L1i L#7 (32KB) + Core L#7 + PU L#7 (P#7)
L3 L#2 (16MB)
L2 L#8 (512KB) + L1d L#8 (32KB) + L1i L#8 (32KB) + Core L#8 + PU L#8 (P#8)
L2 L#9 (512KB) + L1d L#9 (32KB) + L1i L#9 (32KB) + Core L#9 + PU L#9 (P#9)
L2 L#10 (512KB) + L1d L#10 (32KB) + L1i L#10 (32KB) + Core L#10 + PU L#10 (P#10)
L2 L#11 (512KB) + L1d L#11 (32KB) + L1i L#11 (32KB) + Core L#11 + PU L#11 (P#11)
L3 L#3 (16MB)
L2 L#12 (512KB) + L1d L#12 (32KB) + L1i L#12 (32KB) + Core L#12 + PU L#12 (P#12)
L2 L#13 (512KB) + L1d L#13 (32KB) + L1i L#13 (32KB) + Core L#13 + PU L#13 (P#13)
L2 L#14 (512KB) + L1d L#14 (32KB) + L1i L#14 (32KB) + Core L#14 + PU L#14 (P#14)
L2 L#15 (512KB) + L1d L#15 (32KB) + L1i L#15 (32KB) + Core L#15 + PU L#15 (P#15)
L3 L#4 (16MB)
L2 L#16 (512KB) + L1d L#16 (32KB) + L1i L#16 (32KB) + Core L#16 + PU L#16 (P#16)
L2 L#17 (512KB) + L1d L#17 (32KB) + L1i L#17 (32KB) + Core L#17 + PU L#17 (P#17)
L2 L#18 (512KB) + L1d L#18 (32KB) + L1i L#18 (32KB) + Core L#18 + PU L#18 (P#18)
L2 L#19 (512KB) + L1d L#19 (32KB) + L1i L#19 (32KB) + Core L#19 + PU L#19 (P#19)
L3 L#5 (16MB)
L2 L#20 (512KB) + L1d L#20 (32KB) + L1i L#20 (32KB) + Core L#20 + PU L#20 (P#20)
L2 L#21 (512KB) + L1d L#21 (32KB) + L1i L#21 (32KB) + Core L#21 + PU L#21 (P#21)
L2 L#22 (512KB) + L1d L#22 (32KB) + L1i L#22 (32KB) + Core L#22 + PU L#22 (P#22)
L2 L#23 (512KB) + L1d L#23 (32KB) + L1i L#23 (32KB) + Core L#23 + PU L#23 (P#23)
L3 L#6 (16MB)
L2 L#24 (512KB) + L1d L#24 (32KB) + L1i L#24 (32KB) + Core L#24 + PU L#24 (P#24)
L2 L#25 (512KB) + L1d L#25 (32KB) + L1i L#25 (32KB) + Core L#25 + PU L#25 (P#25)
L2 L#26 (512KB) + L1d L#26 (32KB) + L1i L#26 (32KB) + Core L#26 + PU L#26 (P#26)
L2 L#27 (512KB) + L1d L#27 (32KB) + L1i L#27 (32KB) + Core L#27 + PU L#27 (P#27)
L3 L#7 (16MB)
L2 L#28 (512KB) + L1d L#28 (32KB) + L1i L#28 (32KB) + Core L#28 + PU L#28 (P#28)
L2 L#29 (512KB) + L1d L#29 (32KB) + L1i L#29 (32KB) + Core L#29 + PU L#29 (P#29)
L2 L#30 (512KB) + L1d L#30 (32KB) + L1i L#30 (32KB) + Core L#30 + PU L#30 (P#30)
L2 L#31 (512KB) + L1d L#31 (32KB) + L1i L#31 (32KB) + Core L#31 + PU L#31 (P#31)
L3 L#8 (16MB)
L2 L#32 (512KB) + L1d L#32 (32KB) + L1i L#32 (32KB) + Core L#32 + PU L#32 (P#32)
L2 L#33 (512KB) + L1d L#33 (32KB) + L1i L#33 (32KB) + Core L#33 + PU L#33 (P#33)
L2 L#34 (512KB) + L1d L#34 (32KB) + L1i L#34 (32KB) + Core L#34 + PU L#34 (P#34)
L2 L#35 (512KB) + L1d L#35 (32KB) + L1i L#35 (32KB) + Core L#35 + PU L#35 (P#35)
L3 L#9 (16MB)
L2 L#36 (512KB) + L1d L#36 (32KB) + L1i L#36 (32KB) + Core L#36 + PU L#36 (P#36)
L2 L#37 (512KB) + L1d L#37 (32KB) + L1i L#37 (32KB) + Core L#37 + PU L#37 (P#37)
L2 L#38 (512KB) + L1d L#38 (32KB) + L1i L#38 (32KB) + Core L#38 + PU L#38 (P#38)
L2 L#39 (512KB) + L1d L#39 (32KB) + L1i L#39 (32KB) + Core L#39 + PU L#39 (P#39)
L3 L#10 (16MB)
L2 L#40 (512KB) + L1d L#40 (32KB) + L1i L#40 (32KB) + Core L#40 + PU L#40 (P#40)
L2 L#41 (512KB) + L1d L#41 (32KB) + L1i L#41 (32KB) + Core L#41 + PU L#41 (P#41)
L2 L#42 (512KB) + L1d L#42 (32KB) + L1i L#42 (32KB) + Core L#42 + PU L#42 (P#42)
L2 L#43 (512KB) + L1d L#43 (32KB) + L1i L#43 (32KB) + Core L#43 + PU L#43 (P#43)
L3 L#11 (16MB)
L2 L#44 (512KB) + L1d L#44 (32KB) + L1i L#44 (32KB) + Core L#44 + PU L#44 (P#44)
L2 L#45 (512KB) + L1d L#45 (32KB) + L1i L#45 (32KB) + Core L#45 + PU L#45 (P#45)
L2 L#46 (512KB) + L1d L#46 (32KB) + L1i L#46 (32KB) + Core L#46 + PU L#46 (P#46)
L2 L#47 (512KB) + L1d L#47 (32KB) + L1i L#47 (32KB) + Core L#47 + PU L#47 (P#47)
L3 L#12 (16MB)
L2 L#48 (512KB) + L1d L#48 (32KB) + L1i L#48 (32KB) + Core L#48 + PU L#48 (P#48)
L2 L#49 (512KB) + L1d L#49 (32KB) + L1i L#49 (32KB) + Core L#49 + PU L#49 (P#49)
L2 L#50 (512KB) + L1d L#50 (32KB) + L1i L#50 (32KB) + Core L#50 + PU L#50 (P#50)
L2 L#51 (512KB) + L1d L#51 (32KB) + L1i L#51 (32KB) + Core L#51 + PU L#51 (P#51)
L3 L#13 (16MB)
L2 L#52 (512KB) + L1d L#52 (32KB) + L1i L#52 (32KB) + Core L#52 + PU L#52 (P#52)
L2 L#53 (512KB) + L1d L#53 (32KB) + L1i L#53 (32KB) + Core L#53 + PU L#53 (P#53)
L2 L#54 (512KB) + L1d L#54 (32KB) + L1i L#54 (32KB) + Core L#54 + PU L#54 (P#54)
L2 L#55 (512KB) + L1d L#55 (32KB) + L1i L#55 (32KB) + Core L#55 + PU L#55 (P#55)
L3 L#14 (16MB)
L2 L#56 (512KB) + L1d L#56 (32KB) + L1i L#56 (32KB) + Core L#56 + PU L#56 (P#56)
L2 L#57 (512KB) + L1d L#57 (32KB) + L1i L#57 (32KB) + Core L#57 + PU L#57 (P#57)
L2 L#58 (512KB) + L1d L#58 (32KB) + L1i L#58 (32KB) + Core L#58 + PU L#58 (P#58)
L2 L#59 (512KB) + L1d L#59 (32KB) + L1i L#59 (32KB) + Core L#59 + PU L#59 (P#59)
L3 L#15 (16MB)
L2 L#60 (512KB) + L1d L#60 (32KB) + L1i L#60 (32KB) + Core L#60 + PU L#60 (P#60)
L2 L#61 (512KB) + L1d L#61 (32KB) + L1i L#61 (32KB) + Core L#61 + PU L#61 (P#61)
L2 L#62 (512KB) + L1d L#62 (32KB) + L1i L#62 (32KB) + Core L#62 + PU L#62 (P#62)
L2 L#63 (512KB) + L1d L#63 (32KB) + L1i L#63 (32KB) + Core L#63 + PU L#63 (P#63)


The part I'm worried about is that rather than being 8x32MB caches (a monolithic 32MB per 8-core CCD), it's further subdivided into two 16MB caches per CCD. Have you had any success running a task across both CCXs in a CCD, or does that still brutalise the performance?
Click to expand...

Yes, what you have is correct which is the epyc rome Zen2/Matisse cache topology which is subdivided into 16MB L3, see diagram below). The zen3/Vermeer 5950x cache topology (see second diagram below) runs faster than zen2 when L3 cache requirement is greater than 16MB such as cullen LLR. Don't know by how much, just based on the memory topology as presented by AMD during Zen3 launched.


1714656845192.png


1714656746373.png
 
Thanks for the info. I didn't realise there was a topology change between Zen2/Zen3. At least if they've fixed it for Zen 3, that means that it should be unified 32MB caches on the Zen 4 chips, so I can get my 7950Xs doing that too.
 
1714673978314.png

For those not able to efficiently run PG, make sure to load up on this project. It can use CPU and GPU's both.
 
It's a BOINC MATH Pentathlon, lol.

Anyway, hopefully the next two projects are not purely MATH related.
 
pututu said:
It's a BOINC MATH Pentathlon, lol.

Anyway, hopefully the next two projects are not purely MATH related.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, there are mostly math projects still running. And out of all the projects still running, there aren't a lot suitable for this competition. Beggers cannot be choosers.
 
Gilthanis said:
Unfortunately, there are mostly math projects still running. And out of all the projects still running, there aren't a lot suitable for this competition. Beggers cannot be choosers.
Click to expand...
I was going to say, this is the state of BOINC these days.
 
Gilthanis said:
Unfortunately, there are mostly math projects still running. And out of all the projects still running, there aren't a lot suitable for this competition. Beggers cannot be choosers.
Click to expand...
It's one of the reasons I've been running Primegrid lately. F@H pissed me off (again) but there's practically no medical projects around right now. The last time I tried WCG I couldn't even pull a work unit for CPU or GPU; although that's been a while now.
 
Unfortunately, math projects are the easiest to come up with when compare to other non-Math related fields like medicine, astrophysics, etc. You could easily widen the search space by increasing some factors towards infinity.

Since this year I've been running Sidock, WCG and occasionally running einstein, gpugrid and FAH (bigadv challenge). I did however participate in last PG challenge in case one of the sub-projects was chosen so I can get a feel of it.

SmokeRngs https://hardforum.com/threads/primegrid-challenge-series-started-yesterday.2032958/post-1045868392. ;)
 
SmokeRngs said:
The last time I tried WCG I couldn't even pull a work unit for CPU or GPU; although that's been a while now.
Click to expand...
I'm getting enough MCM work on WCG to keep my machines busy.

My cache setting is 2.0 days. My machines constantly poll for new work since the supply is limited.
 
Last edited:
PG - can't see the subproject here.
1714862673596.png


Numbersfields tasks jumped a bit since the announcement.
1714862387822.png


Ramjam picking up.
1714862490040.png
 
1714874727366.png


Breathe it in now boys...it is going to get really bumpy really quick...lol. We won't be seeing this positioning for long once all the other bunkers start dropping.
 
nouqraz , thanks for helping the team in the marathon race. Please don't be shy to introduce yourself here. We ain't biting anyone here ;)
 
Jeeper's Day 1 Commentary.

Day 1 – 05 May 2024 – Here We Go​


27 teams are taking on the challenge of this year's Pentathlon. We welcome a returnee in BOINC@AUSTRALIA. And a new team is facing the hardships of the coming weeks in NoTEAM. We wish all the teams lots of success and fun, and a high tolerance for frustration.

It all starts with two disciplines that could hardly be more contrasting. The fast pace on the short track is on the agenda in form of the Sprint and is countered by the Marathon, where endurance and consistency are more important. As the third discipline is already known, the strategists in the teams have to weigh very carefully where to allocate their resources.

icon-sprint-small.png Sprint (NumberFields@home)
NumberFields@home is already a well-known track in the Pentathlon calendar. This is the fifth time the teams venture onto this track, the second time in the Sprint. Particularly in the Sprint, it is important to get out of the starting blocks quickly. Anyone who oversleeps will lose crucial meters that are almost impossible to make up.

In this respect, TAAT has done a great job. Last year's winners show their ambitions early on and leave the competition in the dust. P3D in #2 is no surprise, but the considerable gap is. The fact that SG (#3) is relatively close should also give hope to the Blue and Yellows and raise eyebrows on the Green Planet.

[H] (#4) is also in the race for the podium, but they have to be careful not to lose contact. This is exactly what happened to GPU Users Group (GPUUG, #5), but this does not mean that it is all over just yet.

CNT finds itself in #6 and seamlessly continues their performance of the previous year. #7 is unlikely to fulfill the expectations of LTT. What is still on the cards for them? Ukraine in #8 is a bit behind this duo and also has sprinted to a small lead over NoTEAM (#9). An exciting three-way battle could emerge there, as NoTEAM is followed by AF (#10) and LITOMYSL (#11) within a blink of an eye.

The last time RKN finished in double digits was in 2020. Currently in #12, things are not looking great for the Rechenkrafties. It is not so much the current ranking that is worrying, but the fact that the gap is already quite significant. Therefore, it is important that they also look behind, where BOINC.Italy (#13) and SUSA (#14) are neck and neck.

While Overclock.net (OCN, #15) is fighting to catch up with the duo ahead of them, Chinese Dream (#16) is staying ahead of Team China (TC, #18). Let us see how this Chinese duel turns out. AMD Users (#17) are also in the mix.

Crunching@EVGA (#19) has to watch this fight from behind a little wistfully. However, they have to keep focused, because Meisterkuehler (MK, #20) have come close and just ignited an intermediate turbo, which also took BOINC@AUSTRALIA (#21) by surprise.

BOINCstats (BS, #22) and BOINC Synergy (B^S, #23) have left The Final Front Ear (TFFE, #24) and UK BOINC Team (UBT, #25) behind them. However, the gaps are still small and changes can happen quickly. This also means that Russia and Crystal Dream could still get involved if only they would get going.

icon-marathon-small.png Marathon (PrimeGrid: only subproject Cullen Prime Search LLR (CUL))
Most of the teams have also encountered this year's long track several times at the Pentathlon. However, there has never been a Marathon on this track before.

TAAT has created facts here, as well, and took the lead by a clear margin. Behind them, however, a fierce battle for the remaining places on the podium is looming. LTT (#4) had to let P3D (#2) and SG (#3) pass in the last hour. Things can happen that quickly.

And it goes without saying that we should not write off [H] (#5) and GPUUG (#6) too early. However, stepping up the pace is certainly recommended. NoTEAM surprises us with #7 and we will see if they can keep up the pace after their good start. At least their lead over CNT (#8) and BOINC.Italy (#9) is clear.

Ukraine (#10) has just made a strong intermediate spurt, pushing SUSA down into #11. Behind them we find the two Chinese teams in a clinch. TC has just taken #12 and ousted Chinese Dream (#13).

Just a moment ago it looked as if AF (#14) could get the better of the Chinese, but apparently something was wrong with the last baguette. AMD Users (#15) and LITOMYSL (#16) are crunching a bit in no man's land. You may already have missed the team: No, I have not forgotten RKN. The Rechenkrafties are currently only in #17. The guys do not look great on the track right now.

Behind them, BOINC@AUSTRALIA (#18) and B^S (#19) cannot take advantage of RKN's weakness yet. Still glued to the starting blocks are MK, BS, Crystal Dream, OCN, UBT, Crunching@EVGA, TFFE, and Russia. That is quite a large number.

ringe.png Overall Standings
The look at the overall standings remains brief today. There is too much movement in the disciplines. TAAT makes clear that they want to win again this year, while P3D (#2) and SG (#3) are behind them. [H] (#4) and LTT (#5) cannot meet the expectations at this time. GPUUG (#6) and CNT (#7) are where we expected them to be, which cannot be said of the following team. NoTEAM in #8 is a positive surprise and it remains to be seen if they can maintain this level.

  • Can SG hold onto #3 in the Sprint?
  • Will LTT lose contact in the Marathon?
  • And where is the computing power of Rechenkraft.net?

You see it remains exciting at the BOINC Pentathlon.

Yours, Jeeper

[Based on stats at 11:00 UTC]
 
1714933946682.png

We dropped to 4th and I'm surprised we hadn't dropped further now that other teams are awake. Pretty good chance they are all still sitting on their bunkers though.

1714934030584.png


We dropped to 4th in PG so that is promising but we will certainly need a lot more help here. These work units push your CPU hard.

1714934086614.png


We also dropped to 4th in Numberfields. These work units are a lot easier for folks to process. That is where lower end systems and some of the plebians (like me) typically run most of their resources. This project is a short ran time frame so if anyone has anything at all they can fire up on it, please do.

The next project Ramanujan Machine won't start for another day and like 5 hours. This also is where most people running Numberfields will wind up. the last day of Numberfields overlaps with the first day for Ramanujan. Teams will be making decisions on whether to gamble moving the resources to Ramanajun or to solidify their standing in Numberfields. We will take all the help we can get in either.
 

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I've told my Epyc 7662 system to not fetch any more work, and I'll swap it over to Cullen tomorrow and see how it does like that. I've been keeping it running other tasks due to the odd cache layout, but I'll see if it can get something resembling tolerable performance running one task per die.
 
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